‘Landfill-like’ sea of rubbish dumped onto field off old A46 in Nottinghamshire

A vast amount of rubbish has been dumped onto a field near Cotgrave – and land owners have been issued an enforcement order to clean it up.

It has emerged Nottinghamshire County Council signed off the order in June saying the owners have until September 1 to return the site off the old A46, The Fosse, to how it was when the owners bought the land.

If the site is not returned to the same standard, criminal proceedings will be opened, the council says.

Notts TV is attempting to contact the owners for comment.

The breach of the planning control alleged is the ‘material change of use of the land from an agricultural use to a use for the important, deposit, storage and transfer of waste materials’.

The order states: “The waste materials on the site are generating odours and flies.

“This land is used extensively by members of the public and for an intermittent motorcycle use and these users will also be adversely affected by the development.

“No evidence has been provided to demonstrate that the runoff from the Land is controlled and that it will not result in environment harm.

“The development has unacceptable impacts on both the quality of the local environment and of those living nearby and using the adjoining public rights of way.

“Retaining the waste material will also result in further environmental impacts.

“Regrade the soils on the land to an even contour with the existing ground levels at the boundaries of the Land and remove any stones or rubble or loose waste materials at the surface to restore the ground to its condition pre-October 2016 to enable the resumption of the agricultural use.”

The site at Old Barn, Cotgrave

The state of the land has caused anger among local residents on social media.

Noreen Murphy shared a video on The Cotgrave Noticeboard Facebook page of the field and said: “im [sic] gob smacked that this is just left and naff all is getting done about it, kids go up there on there [sic] bikes.”

Norma South commented on the post: “Looks like a landfill site.”

Barbara Hindson commented: “I walk my dogs there. The rubbish was in black machine wrapped bags, similar to how straw is wrapped.

“Not sure why all the bags have been emptied though.”

Jonathan Smith, of Nottinghamshire County Council’s development management team said: “The County Council was alerted to waste being stored on land off the old A46 at The Fosse, Cotgrave by members of the public.

“This activity has been done without planning permission and without the prior knowledge of the council. We have been working in close conjunction with our partners to seek as quick a resolution as possible, within the confines of the planning system.

“An Enforcement Notice requiring the removal of all waste from the site and restoration to its former condition has been served on the landowners and other parties who we believe have an interest in the site.

“This notice was served on 18 April 2017 and came into effect on 1 June after no appeal was lodged. It gives those responsible until 1 September to remove all waste and to restore the site to its previous condition. If the notice is not complied with, anyone guilty of an offence is liable on conviction to a fine set by the Court.”

“The County Council is continuing to monitor the site in light of the enforcement action that it has taken.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are aware that a number of waste bales have been deposited close to Cotgrave Gorse.

“We are investigating this as part of a larger waste crime investigation.

“We are working hard with our partners to establish who was responsible and to bring them to justice.

“We would like to ask anyone with information about the waste to call our free hotline on 0800 807 060 or crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.”